Disneyland Diary, 1965

1965 ADDITIONS

• GREAT MOMENTS WITH MR. LINCOLN (a personal experience with history, in a new theater in the Main Street Opera House) — Main Street, U.S.A.



• PLAZA INN (offering dining in the grand manner) — Main Street Plaza.



HIGHLIGHTS

Disneyland celebrated its tenth anniversary with a year-long "tencennial celebration."







New Year's Eve brought 20,000 to begin the observance of 1965,

A new addition to Disneyland, "Fantasy on Parade" was introduced during the Christmas season.



Walt Disney's "Wonderful World of Color" television show saluted Disneyland's first decade.

Disneyland's first Ambassador to the World, Julie Reihm, traveled to Europe, Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and throughout the U.S.



Valentine's Dance, Catholic Schools Day, "Spring Fling" and special youth days attracted record attendance.

More than 50,000 celebrants from 138 high schools attended four all-night Grad Parties.



Les Brown, Si Zentner, Frank Sinatra, Jr., Stan Kenton, Wayne King, Harry James, Duke Ellington, Woody Herman, Tex Beneke, Hootenannies and Humdingers filled the summer with music.



Disneyland's Community Service Awards program honored 17 county organizations with cash awards totaling $15,000. The Outstanding Award was won by the Orange County Association for Retarded Children.

FAMOUS GUESTS

• Lord Louis Mountbatten of England (March)
• President Maurice Yameogo of Upper Volta (April)
• New Zealand Defense Minister Dean Eyre (April)
• Gov. Mark Hatfield of Oregon (June)
• Princesses Chandra and Suddhavong of Thailand (June)
• Prince and Princess Mikasa of Japan (September)
• Gov. Hayden Burns of Florida (November)
• Premier W.A.C. Bennett of British Columbia

See more vintage & current Disneyland photos on my Disneyland web pages.

Disneyland Diary, 1963

1963 ADDITIONS

• Walt Disney's ENCHANTED TIKI ROOM (unveiled a new media of three-dimensional entertainment called "Audio Animatronics;" birds, flowers and Tiki gods perform an exciting musical fantasy — Adventureland



HIGHLIGHTS

"Salute to Mexico," presented by People-to-People and Mexican Tourist Association was showcased as a cultural exhibit.



NOTE: From the L.A. Times:

From the L.A. Times on July 24, 1963: “An authentically decorated Mexican street exhibit will be opened Monday at Disneyland to celebrate a ‘Salute to Mexico’ sponsored by People-to-People, Inc., in co-operation with the Mexican Tourist Council. “Mexico’s former president, Miguel Aleman, now president of the tourist council, will act as official representative at the 11 a.m. dedication ceremonies. “The three-month exhibit will be a showcase of Mexican crafts ranging from pottery and jeweltry to contemporary art and bull fighting.”



From the Pasadena Star-News, July 31, 1963: “Mexico Invades Southland—A beachhead based on friendship and mutual understanding has been established at Disneyland with opening of the ‘Salute la Mexico’ under the sponsorship of People-to-People, Inc. Teresa Lucero, 8, of Los Angeles and Patrick Wade, 12, of Anaheim, pulled the ribbon to officially open the display. Watching were Edmondo Gonzales, Consul General of Mexico in Los Angeles; Walt Disney, executive committee member of sponsoring group; Carlos Arruz, of Mexico City, and Joyce C. Hall, chairman of People-to-People committee.”



More than 19,000 guests were on hand for New Year's Eve and thousands more participated in Easter Vacation's "Spring Fling."





Three Grad Nites brought 35,000 celebrants.



The "Cavalcade of Big Bands" with Gene Krupa, Les Brown, Charlie Barnet (seen below)...



and Lionel Hampton was followed by a summer-long big band parade — Count Basie, Tex Beneke, Tommy Dorsey's Orchestra with Frank Sinatra, Jr., and Harry James.



"Dixieland at Disneyland" featured Al Hirt and a cast of 300 in a musical mardi gras.

The "Parade of Toys" was a daily feature of Christmas week.



Disneyland's Community Service Awards program honored the charitable efforts of 15 county organizations, presenting $10,000 in awards, with the Outstanding Award going to the YMCA of North Orange County.

FAMOUS GUESTS

• 30 United Nations representatives (January)
• British Ambassador Sir David Ormsby Gore (February)
• President Srvepalli Radhakrishnan of India (June)
• Dr. Norman Dyhrenfurth and American Mt. Everst Team (August)
• King Mohammed Zahir and Queen Homaira of Afghanistan (September)
• Former King Umberto of Italy (November)
• President Victor Paz Estenssoro of Bolivia (November)
• Gov. Otto Kerner of Illinois (December)
• Gov. Tim Babcock of Montana (December)
• Astronaut John Glenn (December)

See more vintage & current Disneyland photos on my Disneyland web pages.

GRAD NIGHT! June 1962

This photo was taken in Tomorrowland on June 16, 1962 during Grad Night festivities. At the top of the photo, you can see the Art of Animation sign. The caption for this AP wire photo was fairly gushing about the event:

They had a ball—it looks like an ordinary graduation dance, but it isn’t. It’s the 1962 version, Disneyland-style. The famed amusement park re-oened its doors at 11 pm after it closed to the public, and threw an all-night graduation party for more than 26,000 grads on Thursday and Friday nights. Besides the rides there were eight bands and the kids were doing the “twist” all over the park.

Just look at those crazy teens dancing! Hey readers—were any of you there that night?

See more Disneyland Tomorrowland photos at my regular website.

The Readers Chime In

Today’s brief interlude is devoted to a few readers out there. The first one is a gent named Barry who was VERY kind in sharing his story of Grad Nite 1965 with me. Barry & his date (students at Costa Mesa High School) are shown here, photographed inside the Frontierland Gates. Here’s his story of that magical nite: “I met Stephanie Shumate, the girl in the photo, after I was dumped by a girl who was too young to go to Grad Nite. I had wanted to talk to Stephanie all year long but never worked up the courage until I was left with no date and Grad Nite was a scant week away. We talked on the phone regularly until the time to go on graduation day.

“I always thought that Grad Nite was one of the most important dates for a senior in Southern California, if your high school happened to do this of course. Not all of them did as it was a bit expensive but I always felt sure it was worth it. The Prom may be as important to some, but I preferred Grad Nite. Grad Nite was from 10 PM until the next morning the, day you graduate or very soon after. Only about ten to fifteen high schools went each night so it was not crowded at all and the lines for rides were very short. I picked up Stephanie in my old 1956 Blue Pontiac Convertible (the best Drive-In Movie car ever built) and then went to get my mom and grandmother so they could have the car overnight. The school didn’t want a lot full of cars! Then we all packed onto a school bus. My buddy Rick and his date (and future first wife Janis Minke) were also there and sat in the seat in front of us.

“Stephanie was wearing a black knee length sheath dress and a light sweater. I had some suit of mine on since Grad Nite required ties and jackets for the boys. We did a few rides and talked all night, danced quite a few slow dances. For me it was the perfect night! We eventually went to get the photo taken of us as a couple in Frontierland. I was so pleased just to be with her but as the photographer told us to smile, she reached down and took my hand, which explains the deliriously insane grin I am wearing at the time. I am pretty sure we were not allowed on Tom Sawyer's Island at Grad Nite. Too many of us would have found our way into Injun Joe’s cave!

“By the time the skies were getting light, we were heading back to the bus but we had really gotten along just great and we did have a lot of fun there and ate a bit too early in the night. I fell for her totally but I had to leave soon after graduation for basic training at Fort Ord. I was sad that I would not get a chance to see her for over 6 months. But that night was magic and I still think it was the sweetest date I ever had for a myriad of reasons. When we returned from Grad Nite, mom was waiting in the parking lot and I drove her home so I could take the car to take Stephanie home in a little privacy. We drove up to her home and then I pulled into the driveway just as she asked, and she sat with me in the car as we talked about a few trivial things. She would look up at me on occasion smile and gently close her eyes and listen to me talk. I must have been boring her to tears! After a while she dreamily looked up, smiled, and asked if I wanted to kiss her (I think possibly as a way to get me to shut up!) Wow! I didn’t have to be asked more than once! It is still to this day one of the best kisses I have ever experienced in my life by far. It is emblazoned into my brain cells forever. I think a full half of my brain has been taken up with that memory. After that was over and my heart was beating somewhat normally she invited me in for breakfast.

“Not too much longer after this—3 weeks maybe—I left for basic training, but she had agreed to write to me while I was there. Letters were always nice in basic training since it was extremely lonely at times.” Courtesy of Tim at Vintage Disneyland Tickets we can see the Grad Nite Ticket for 1965.



Meanwhile, another reader has written in requesting some info. He has a 1970’s car that was most likely used at an amusement park; checking in with the experts out there to see if they think it might have been from Disneyland? Here are two photos:





See more vintage & current Disneyland photos at my regular website.